The present invention is directed to methods of playing games of chance and apparatus and systems for playing an ongoing bonus game wherein a player may enter the ongoing bonus game, participate therein and exit therefrom while the ongoing bonus game is still in process.
Games of chance have been enjoyed by people for thousands of years and have enjoyed widespread popularity in recent times. Many people enjoy playing variations of games that they have not played before. Playing new variations of games adds to the excitement of this recreational activity, particularly when some form of gaming is involved. As used herein, the terms “gaming” and “gaming devices” are used to indicate that some form of wagering is involved and that players must make wagers of value, whether actual currency or some equivalent of value, e.g., token or credit.
Players involved in games of wagering often enjoy new games or variations of old games with relatively simple rules that can be readily learned by a beginner or casual player. Variations to a game with respect to the method of wagering and the ability to increase winnings attracts more players and is highly desired in the industry. The ability to increase winnings where risk is involved based on the selection of a possible random outcome is also highly desired. There has been an accelerating evolution of gaming devices over the past few decades. At the beginning of this evolution, there were mechanical gaming devices, such as the traditional slot machine. The advent of relatively inexpensive computer processors and associated display devices in the form of electronic gaming devices allowed the introduction of computer-emulated games and a pseudo (video) display of the movement of reels or other elements of a mechanical device as well as the game outcome. The next evolutionary step was the integration of communication capabilities between servers and other computers and electronic gaming devices, allowing the interchange of data and information between electronic gaming devices and an operator such as a casino via a network between computers.
The development of communications between gaming machines and networks allowed for the development of systems allowing the players at those machines to compete for additional prizes while playing the traditional wagering games. Among these are progressive gaming systems, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,728 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,855,515, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. In a progressive system, a number of gaining machines are linked together and an additional or bonus prize is made available, which increases in value as wagers are placed on the machines and a portion of each wager is allocated into a bonus prize pool. Each coin drop freezes the available bonus amount for that game. When a player wins, the entire amount of the progressive bonus is awarded and the progressive game restarts. While players are attracted to larger progressive bonuses, after an award of the bonus, interest in playing the machines can wane due to the small amount of the available bonus prize.
A current enhancement to the market is the addition of secondary or bonus games to slot machines. These gaming machines allow a player to participate in an additional or “bonus” game and thereby have a chance to earn an additional payout or bonus prize. The bonus game is typically a single event, or a sequential event where progress through the bonus game is determined by the continuation of play on the slot machine. Examples of such bonus games are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,978, U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,976 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,716, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. These bonus games conventionally begin when a selected random event occurs in a primary game on a gaming machine. The bonus game is then activated and begins. At the end of the game, an indicated payout value is awarded as a bonus prize. The bonus games disclosed in these references include a prize wheel that spins, a number of computer generated options that are selected to receive bonuses until an end game signal is reached, or a dexterity- or skill-based video game.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,190,255, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses modifications that may be made to a bonus game. A random occurrence in a base game, such as the occurrence of a special symbol combination, causes a computer processor to generate a resource exercisable in the bonus game. For example, a resource can be used to override the end bonus outcome and continue the bonus game to receive a different end outcome.
The networking of computers has also allowed and improved the ability to track the usage of individual gaming machines including the players using such a machine. Player tracking systems allow for the management of large numbers of gaming machines and players simultaneously. Examples of player tracking systems maybe found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,071, U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,269, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,961, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. Such systems allow players to carry credits from one gaming machine to another, thereby avoiding or at least minimizing the use of coins or tokens, to track the gaming usage of the players for marketing purposes and to allow the players to play for a higher payout upon meeting certain conditions.
It would be particularly desirable to provide opportunities to increase winning payouts and also allow a player the opportunity to participate in a bonus game that is continually ongoing and offers the ability to increase the value of bonus awards among networked machines. For example, offering a player the opportunity to participate in an ongoing bonus game where the value of available bonus awards would increase from the actions of multiple gaming machines and thereby increase his or her potential winnings is also desirable. Allowing the player to reenter and continue participation in the ongoing or perpetual bonus game is also desirable.